Do You Wanna Know?

In 1799 the naturalist George Shaw, Keeper of the Department of Natural History at the British Museum, received a truly bizarre animal specimen from Captain John Hunter in Australia. It appeared to be the bill of a duck attached to the skin of a mole. Shaw dutifully examined the specimen and wrote up a description of it in a scientific journal known as the Naturalist’s Miscellany, but he couldn’t help confessing that it was “impossible not to entertain some doubts as to the genuine nature of the animal, and to surmise that there might have been practised some arts of deception in its structure.”

Despite Shaw’s doubts about the reality of the animal, he gave it a name: Platypus anatinus, or flatfoot duck. The scientific name was later changed to Ornithorhynchus anatinus, but it popularly remained known as the Duckbilled Platypus.

Did You Know That?

• “God has a sense of humor – just look at the platypus.” (cuteoverload.com)
• What do you think is the most interesting animal in the world? (greenanswers.com)
• It’s all in my Wildlife Treasury! (bexschwartz.blogspot.com)

A Crocodiles tongue is attached to the roof of its mouth and he can not move his tongue in and out like you can… Why? I do not Know!

A group of larks is called an exaltation.

A elephant is the heaviest of all land mammals at around 8,000 pounds.

A kangaroo can’t jump unless its tail is touching the ground.

A male emperor moth can smell a female emperor moth up to 7 miles away.

# The Moose is the world’s largest deer.

# The Arctic Jellyfish can have a diameter of 7 1/2 feet (2.28 M) and tentacles stretching 120 feet (36.3 M)

# The male Emperor Moth can smell a female 6.8 miles (11 km) away.

# The Peregrine Falcon can swoop up to 217 MPH (350 km/h).

# The Anchovy is a dwarf herring.

# The Koala lives entirely on eucalyptus and does not drink water.

# The Sloth grows green algae on its hair for camouflage.

# The Sperm Whale can dive to a depth of over 8,000 feet (2,400 M).

# The Ribbon Worm can digest 95% of its own body when food is scarce.

# The Swift is a bird that remains airborne for 2-3 years, during which time it sleeps, drinks, eats, and mates on the wing.

# The African Earthworm can grow up to 22 feet (6.5 M) in length.

# The Arctic Tern migrates 14,000 miles (22,530 KM) each way.

# The anole (Anolis Carolinesis), or American chameleon, is a small lizard found in the southeastern United States. Not a true chameleon, the anole is a member of the iguana family and is noted for its color changes.
# A chameleon can move its eyes in two directions at the same time.
# Dolphins sleep at night just below the surface of the water. They frequently rise to the surface for air.
# A cockroach can live for up to a week without a head.
# An albatross can sleep while it flies. It apparently dozes while cruising at 25 mph.
# Amazon ants (red ants found in the western U.S.) steal the larvae of other ants to keep as slaves. The slave ants build homes for and feed the Amazon ants, who cannot do anything but fight. They depend completely on their slaves for survival.
# The hummingbird is the only bird that can hover and fly straight up, down, or backward!
# A leech is a worm that feeds on blood. It will pierce its victim’s skin, fill itself with three to four times its own body weight in blood, and will not feed again for months. Leeches were once used by doctors to drain “bad blood” from sick patients.
# Lovebirds are small parakeets who live in pairs. Male and female lovebirds look alike, but most other male birds have brighter colors than the females.
# Only female mosquitoes bite. Females need the protein from blood to produce their eggs.
# Cats have about 250 muscles in each ear.

#The Tropical Orb Weaver spider spins a web over 18 feet (5.5 M) in circumference.

#The Moose is the world’s largest deer.

#The Arctic Jellyfish can have a diameter of 7 1/2 feet (2.28 M) and tentacles stretching 120 feet (36.3 M)

#The male Emperor Moth can smell a female 6.8 miles (11 km) away.

#The Peregrine Falcon can swoop up to 217 MPH (350 km/h).

#The Anchovy is a dwarf herring.

#The Koala lives entirely on eucalyptus and does not drink water.

#The Sloth grows green algae on its hair for camouflage.

#The Sperm Whale can dive to a depth of over 8,000 feet (2,400 M).

#The Ribbon Worm can digest 95% of its own body when food is scarce.

#The Swift is a bird that remains airborne for 2-3 years, during which time it sleeps, drinks, eats, and mates on the wing.

#The African Earthworm can grow up to 22 feet (6.5 M) in length.

#The Arctic Tern migrates 14,000 miles (22,530 KM) each way

The Hummingbird is the world smallest bird, from the beak to the tail measures only 6cm (2.36inch). Is colored with bright colors and has an extended bill and tongue (depending on the species) to easily collect nectar from the flowers.

Apart from their size the Hummingbirds have other curiosities,They have a very fast frequency of wing fluttering, they flutter 80 times in a second, allowing them to stay hovering in the air or to fly,to either side, backwards and forward. They are the only birds that can fly backwards.

The difference between male and female blue crabs is the design located on their apron (belly.) The male blue crab has the Washington Monument while the female apron is shaped like the U.S. Capitol.